The SMU men’s soccer team defeated Houston Baptist 3-1 Thursday night at Westcott Field.

The Mustangs played a stellar first half, jumping out to an early lead in the 8th minute on a goal by redshirt junior Brenden Lee. Houston Baptist’s goalkeeper Philip Poser had to work hard the rest of the half as SMU totaled 17 shots.

Junior midfielder Stanton Garcia created a lot of scoring chances for the Mustangs. Midway through the first half, he ripped a beautiful shot on a quick turnaround from about 30 yards that hit the crossbar and was just inches from ricocheting into the net.

Despite all the chances, SMU could not find the net until just before halftime. Freshman midfielder Emil Cuello scored from well outside the box on an assist from Kevin Meinecke in the 41st minute. Meinecke assisted on another goal just two minutes later, finding senior Idi Camara for a header on an excellent cross.

SMU took a 3-0 lead into the half.

The Huskies played well in the second half but could not score untilt he 87th minute. Junior midfielder Erick Aragon took advantage of an SMU mistake in front of their own goal and ended the shutout. Houston Baptist finished with 8 shots but Aragon’s goal was one of only two that reached SMU goalkeeper Michael Nelson.

SMU’s Michael King played all 90 minutes and was a strong defensive presence, stopping what could have been several scoring chances for the Huskies.

Two players, Houston Baptist’s George Kelley and SMU’s Jared Rice, received yellow cards late in the second half.

The win improved the Mustang’s record to 3-2-2 on the year while the Huskies fell to 3-4. SMU will play UC Irvine at home on Sunday at 7:00 P.M. CT at Westcott Field.

Final: SMU 3, HBU 1. The Mustangs return to the Hilltop on Sunday to face UC Irvine at 7 pm. #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/4KVHfMYJPu

— SMU Men's Soccer (@SMUSoccerM) September 18, 2015